The Three Titans
by Ryuuachi
Summary: Set after Naruto's training, and Asuma's death, two new villages become apart of Konoha's alliance, and Naruto meets more than just a new friend but his destiny, NarutoxHinata, SasukexSakura, etc, ?x?, even Kakashi too. Discontinued until further notice.
1. A Treaty With War

_The Three Titans _

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you. _

_Long ago before the great shinobi wars, before the nine tailed demons came forth out the darkness...there was a ancient legend that had existed for thousands of years that dwelt in the minds of the Kages for all their lives...three Titans would come forth, each with incredible power and strength beyond any mortal shinobi alive, knowledge of techniques that could devastate all land, even the very strength of two great demons...the great village of the flames of the land would host one of the two strongest of the Titans, the Titan of Will, able to bring light to those in need, break the chains of the past to bring forth a new future, and would be known far and wide for their light...the weaker of the three would come from the small village of the coast aside the great land of the flames, a destiny laid before this Titan, the Titan of Hope, even as the weakest of these Titans they would be the strongest of heart, even as strong as the Titan of Will, and will bring forth the power needed to give the fallen a chance to get back up, the power to become stronger after each fall and would become one of the greatest of legends to come forth...and the last yet also as strong as the Titan of Will, the second to house a great demon of power but this Titan would be more than just a simple warrior with the blood of heroes in their veins, for the third Titan is the Titan of a power stronger than courage, mightier than justice...they would be the Titan of Heart, more than just plain blood and muscle, transcending the destiny that fate would throw at others, the power to change destiny and fight what fate has in store for them, the power to even change a demon from their path of darkness. The Titan of Heart, the Titan of Will, and the Titan of Hope, their strength would be compared and their power tested, but the greatest reason they would become the Three Titans would be the true destiny they will achieve to even protect the ones they hold dear, and unite together to pierce through the darkness of the juggernaut of fate...the legend has been passed down from then and no one would remember the legend...except for the juggernaut of fate...and the three leaders of the villages of the Titans...one of those leaders was currently waiting for their apprentice to finish her training match, pondering why the legend of the Three Titans was brought into her mind, why now? _

"Come on, I'm not even using my full strength," Sakura joked but then regretted provoking her opponent who countered the restrained punch with a field of afterimages before the wind died down. _I learned from our last sparring matches, this time I'll be able to hit you! _Snapping her head around her fist shot through thin air before she was winded by a strong knee jab right in the stomach followed by a powerful kick to the back and then ended with Sakura being slammed into the ground cracking the earth with a minor shockwave. "You didn't have to go all out,"

"I didn't Sakura," Unlike most other kunoichi, Kaiten Arashi, nicknamed by Sakura and every other classmate of theirs as the Dragon of Kunoichis, especially with her own tattoo of the dragon kanji on her shoulder. Sakura also knew that Kaiten was a master of the fierce Ryuhaken, the fierce leaf dragon fist technique that was one of the strongest in Konoha, even as strong as the Lotus techniques. Kaiten stood at a fair height of five foot nine, but fierce green eyes along with short flaming red hair that added to her nickname Dragon of Kunoichis', along with her well toned body due to her taijutsu training and her almost steel strong build. Even though she was a fierce taijutsu user, she also was a well balanced shinobi in genjutsu and ninjutsu with good tool skills even having fought Ten-ten and won. "By the way, why haven't you advanced to chunin yet?"

"Same reason you haven't Kaiten, haven't gone through the chunin exams but I still made it anyway," Kaiten nodded as she sighed and stretched out popped all of her limbs sending shivers up Sakura's spine. "Do you have to do that?"

"You know I'm the only kuniochi you know of who doesn't use medical jitsu, heck, all my medical knowledge is from taijitsus," Both of them knew the real reason why Kaiten never used medical jitsus, it was her greatest desire to become a kuniochi without medical techniques, and she had even proven to several teachers how fierce of a kunoichi she was with taijitsu. "By the way, who was that shinobi you were introducing to Sai?"

"He's the son of the current Sekage of Sensogakure, the village hiding in war, they are known as the brother village of Kotetsugakure, hiding in steel," A small wind kicked up and then a shinobi appeared before them, short silver blond hair with almost pale green eyes. His headband was pale grey in color with a symbol in the shape of a wind but there were four of them connected, four long three pointed stars pointing inward around one circle. "Hitokaze, this is my friend Kaiten Arashi, Kaiten, this is Hitokaze, and he's a genin from Sensogakure."

"Please Sakura-sama, just call me Tokaze," Unusual for any shinobi she had seen, he wore metal plate armor over his legs and even his chest, he also wore an armored short vest with no armor over his arms except for the gloves with armor over his fists. But what surprised Kaiten was the blue mask over his mouth and the obvious well trained state of his body but the fact that his body was almost at a perfect state, almost as if he was engineered to be in such a perfect condition. "The Sensokage and Hokage would like to speak to us,"

"Hai, come on then Kaiten, sensei wanted to talk to you anyway,"

"You weren't kidding about them being from Sensogakure, they look like living war machines," Besides the Sensokage who was wearing a giant cloak around their body, the one shinobi with the Sensokage was wearing almost full metal armor similar to Hitokaze but armor over the arms along with their headband over their shoulder. Even though they were there for an alliance with Konoha, Kaiten and Sakura could feel the immense aura they both possessed, even the Sensokage seemed to be as great as Tsunade even though both were relaxed. _Just who are these shinobi, they wear all this armor yet so far I've never heard the armor even creak..._Sakura thought to herself as the Sensokage turned to Hitokaze before pulling off their hat.

"Musuko, have you been keeping up your training?" Even Shizune was surprised to see both the Sensokage and Hitokaze embrace each other, the Sensokage's cloak dropped revealing a young woman wearing the exact same type of attire as Hitokaze but her vest was open and underneath was a tank top but also two blue shrukien symbols on each armor plate and her mask had two white stripes on them and pulled down around her neck. For once in her life, Sakura felt relaxed as she looked at the two hugging each other and the Sensokage broke off her tender embrace and turned to Sakura with a smile on her face. "Sakura, thank you for looking after my son,"

"Uh….your welcome…" Sakura replied in stunned silence, except for her sea green eyes and dark short blond hair she was almost like Hitokaze, and her own level of beauty was very high and her body was well toned and yet she also had a high level of grace about her despite her strong build yet it was similar to Hitokaze's, both light yet strong. "…Lady Sensokage…I…uh…"

"Please, we are here for a both a treaty and a true alliance between our two villages, and call me Lady Reikaze instead, Sensokage is just my title and it's a mouthful to say a lot." Tsunade was a bit surprised by her almost peaceful personality but she knew that Reikaze had not acted peaceful for no reason and became Sensokage acting so nice. Her thoughts drifted back to when she had met Reikaze for the first time, and understood the power that lay underneath her calm and peaceful personality…

_Flashback _

"_It is quite a surprise to learn that a shinobi village has been so close to our own yet has never shown their presence to anyone," Tsunade stated while Reikaze nodded, the young woman beside her stood like a vigilant hawk yet in the same style of clothes as Reikaze yet more armor. Unlike her, she possessed almost pale copper hair cut short with the same style of toned body as Reikaze but on her left eye was covered by two different cloths and she looked at Shizune with her uncovered bright icy blue glacier eye. "And you, the proclaimed Kage of your village-"The young woman had pulled out a katana from her back and glared at Tsunade but Reikaze shook her head. _

"_Forgive Kajina, she is my apprentice and her parents died to protect our former Sensokage and my husband, to her that is an insult, and as far I am concerned that is an insult to my deceased husband," Reikaze stated as the young woman, Kajina, sheathed her blade before touching the side of her face where a metal plate covered her eye and she bit her lip. "Tsunade, we of Sensogakure have come here to draw up a peace treaty with your village, and this insult is more than great enough for me to kill you." _

"_Are you here to try and kill me and start a war or make a treaty?" Tsunade waited to see her reaction, but Reikaze was calm unlike Kajina, who was ready to strike her down without a second thought. _

"_Tsunade, what test of my strength do you purpose to prove my worthiness of being recognized as Kage of Sensokagure?" _


	2. Enemies anew

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

"_You do realize that you will be facing me Reikaze and not some jonin?" Either Reikaze was underestimating her or… there was more than just blood that made her Sensokage. Within an instant the entire area was filled with a powerful aura as Reikaze brought one hand forward in an open palm form but the other was pulled back in a closed fist cross of the open palm. That's when Tsunade noticed the tattoo on Reikaze's hand, four different kanj; fire, water, wind, and earth, and on her other was a single kanji, the kanji for master. "So, are you ready to fight a Sannin?"_

"_Of course, and even though we have not been noticed by the main villages and lands, the smaller countries respect us and we have learned through them of the main villages, and their leaders, including you Slug Master." A smile spread across both of their faces as Tsunade cracked her knuckles, the first priorty of any Kage is to always have new on all the villages, and Sensogakure was no exception. Though not as famous as the five main villages, among the smaller ones they all spoke of one common fact, Senso prided itself in their skills at war, if a smaller village needed protection from attack, Senso was the best choice to fight. "And by the way, I too was a Sannin, but this talk is getting us no where, and I think my daughter is waking up from her nap."_

_She's fast, and her movements are more than Jonin level, Tsunade though as she blocked the barrage of blows before throwing a powerful counter strike forcing Reikaze to dodge by bending backwards. Tsunade knocked her down with a powerful sweep kick and then followed with a swift slam into the ground, so much for the strength of a Sensokage, without hesitation Tsunade executed a swift Painful Sky Leg right on Reikaze's stomach. The ground exploded around Reikaze destroying almost half of the field with the attack's result more than clear in her mind but then she felt a powerful chakra underneath her and there Reikaze was blocking the Painful Sky Leg with blood dripping down from her lip. Reikaze shot up pushing Tsunade back as she clasped her hands together while her hands performed a unusual assortment of hand symbols before stopping on bird._

"_Kori no jutsu, Jigoku Kori Ame!" The entire area grew cold thousands upon thousands of ice shards appeared above Tsunade and rained down upon her as Reikaze shot forward yet the ice swirled around her as Tsunade switched herself with a log expecting Reikaze to be caught in her own jutsu. "The North Wind of War jutsu, Kitano Kaze no Senso, Dansu no Kori no Gekido!"_

_Instead of an actual attack, the ice stopped and hovered beneath Reikaze's hand as she spun around as Tsunade charged but then Reikaze nailed her with a open palm blow sending a wave of ice out. As the mist cleared away, Tsunade smiled while Reikaze turned to her and Tsunade looked down at her lip to find a blue streak of frozen blood coming down from the cut. Even though they were just scratches Tsunade had felt the power behind the attack, and she had performed the two attacks without a flaw, although she had taken the first blow Reikaze was still hiding a few techniques, and her eyes had began on her ever since…That's when she noticed Reikaze's eyes, not the normal sea green color they had been but now grey like a storm, the pupil had changed to a four pointed black star with two white tails coming from oppisote sides of the iris which had turned white. Neither moved as Kajina watched both of them who hadn't moved after Reikaze's last attack, time seemed to stop for an eternity before both of them exploded into laughter._

_"Well, what can Konoha do for the Sensokage?"_

"That should finish the treaty and keep those old council members happy," Reikaze nodded as well and despite the significance of an actual treaty, even Tsunade had a few questions gnawing at the back of her mind, along with the sight of those strange eyes. _Well, better now than later to find out, _Tsunade thought to herself while Kajina shivered for a moment and then she bit her lip to the point of blood dripping down from it, _Kuso, I forgot about that promise, but I will need to learn more about this before I can help them. _"Sensokage, I've been meaning to ask you about what we discussed earlier, about Kajina."

"Of course, Musuko, please show them,"

"Hai, Okasan," Before Sakura could ask what was going on or Tsunade for that matter, Hitokaze's eyes glowed before they changed form, the same four pointed star pupil, the same white tails coming from the sides of the iris for even down to the grey color of the iris was there. Reikaze smiled while nodding to Hitokaze and then her own eyes changed in the same way, Kajina moved one hand to the cloth over her left eye but Reikaze shook her head at her.

"Is that…a gekki kenkai?" Hitokaze nodded to Sakura and smiled, it was odd to have those strange eyes on her, not that his eyes were scaring her but she found that they were looking at her even though he was facing away from her.

"Tadoragan is my clan's gekki kenkai, and with it we can track any opponent," It was obvious that he had summed up the abilities of the Tadoragan, Tsunade smiled to herself,_ that explains why Reikaze was able to keep track of her during the test, somehow the Tadoragan is able to track a target, but how? _Both Reikaze and Hitokaze turned to the other but Reikaze shook her head as Tsunade sighed, _it would have been too much to expect them to tell all of our secrets. _Yet Hitokaze stared at Reikaze for a minute before she then nodded, building up the curiosity inside of Tsunade and he turned back to them. "Tadoragan is most unique, with it we can identify the individual chakra openings on our target and even the physical pressure points as well. We can even track opponents down and trace their every movement with the tadoragan by marking our eyes with the individual chakra of an opponent,"

"May I ask why you hesistated to tell us this Sensokage? I don't doubt you already know about our own villages gekki kenkais?" A small smile spread across Reikaze's lips as she nodded to Hitokaze while her own eyes changed back but his eyes remained in their same state.

"You're better of knowing why know, the Tadoragan is the single gekki kenkai of our village, the main source of our strength, and flows through my children's veins. And there is more than just the strength of its tracking ability that makes it strong, using the tracking part of the tadoragan's power, weapons can even be guide with chakra enhancements to never miss their target, even at long range," _I see, the byakugan may be able to see almost perfect 360 and distance, but this Tadoragan, it bypasses a human's 180 radius of vision, allowing them to track an opponent without having to look in a different direction…_A shiver went up Tsunade's spine, and judging by the facts that Sensogakure was more than just surviving on the end of a string, the clan had to be well and thriving. "The Machero clan is the main family that posses the full power of the Tadoragan, and have been around since the time of the First Sensokage."

"Main family…then do you have branch families?" Now it was Kaiten's turn to be surprised, she had heard from Sakura about the Hyuga clan, especially the fact that both branch family and main had the Byakugan. _But does that mean they have the same rules as well?_ Kaiten shivered a little, she had been there when Neji had revealed his caged bird seal on his forehead, and the purpose of it.

"No, my husband…the former Fourth Sensokage, was a distant relative of the Machero clan, they had the Tadoragan as well but few of them had the Machero's level of Tadoragan, out of all of them, Katen, was the only one who could use the Tadoragan like a Machero." Even Shizune noticed the far off look in Reikaze's eyes, _He must have died to protect the Tadoragan's powers, _she thought as Kajina lowered her head in respect, _how is she involved with the Sensokage_… Reikaze sighed and then smiled, Kajina walked over to her and whispered into her eye for a few minutes before she nodded and then stood up. "Oh, I forgot to inform you Hokage, but before we arrived I sent word to Kotetsugakure, our brother village of our treaty and they should be arriving in two days,"

"So soon…I am guessing that you villages are very close in allianceship?"

"Since the creation of our villages, neither one has entered a treaty without the other, and has never gone to war against the other for a hundred years."

Reikaze took a moment to look through he pockets and then she pulled out a small booklet with a red cover and handed it to Tsunade. "This book contains all of our enemies including Kotetsugakure's enemies as well."

_A few D-Level Mssing Nins, some C-level and B-level…_On one of the last ones she paused, her eyes widened a moment before she looked back at the profile, their was no mistake about it, the level was unusual, in fact, almost rare for a person like this. "Only one A-level missing-nin, is this the most recent?"

"Yes, that missing-nin you are reading on, he killed all the other A-Level Missing nin by himself, and his and those are the only kills we have confirmed that are his,"

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Kori no jutsu, Jigoku Kori Ame- Ice Style, Hell Ice Rain; freezes trace amounts of water in the air to form millions of small frozen spikes that then rain down upon the target, the ice is so cold that even a scratch freezes the wound and loers the body temperature if hit with the ice spikes enough times.

Kitano Kaze no Senso, Dansu no Kori no Gekido- North Wind of War, Dance of the Ice Fury; mixes powerful ice moves with graceful taijutsu arts. The survivors of this technique claim that even if you block this move, you'll find your arms encased in ice.


	3. Shadow of the Renegade

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

"What do you mean, if he's a missing-nin why did he kill the other A-Level Missing-nin, it doesn't make any sense!" _This girl trusts her instincts quite well, but I cannot tell them, it is not my place…_Kaiten noticed Reikaze's sigh and her eyes narrowed, she wasn't one to let a question be unanswered, not even if it was a Kage who was asked. "If this missing-nin is an A-Level, Konohagakure must know why!"

"Do not blame okasan, Hotaru is from Kotetsugakure's strongest clan, please," Ignoring Kaiten's furious glare, Hitokaze stared at her with his eyes still in their unusual form and she sighed before nodding. His eyes returned to their original form before he sat down, _Strange, his body shows almost no decrease in energy or chakra, _Tsunade noted as Kaiten folded her arms in defeat. "Once the Kotetsukage is here, I'm sure he will be able to answer your-"

"Hey Obaa-chan, OBAA-CHAN!!!" Naruto had been waiting by the door try to listen but he fell asleep half way through the boring words and woke up as soon right when they were talking about the missing-nin. Two and a half years had made him forget about Tsunade when she got ticked off at him, most of all when he called her obaa-chan. Within a second of his shouting a single fist came flying through the door and sent him soaring into the wall behind him followed by the door as Tsunade brushed off her knuckles leaving Kajina and Reikaze to snicker. _So this is the famous Naruto of Konoha, quite a energetic kid, _Reikaze smiled to herself, remembering the reports of some of the stronger genin of Konoha, most of them about the one who had been seen with the Sannin a lot, Naruto. "Kuso that hurt Obaa-chan!"

"Hey Sakura, why does he call her Obaa-chan, is it her age?" As Naruto managed to get himself out of the wall, Kaiten flew right back into the door and Naruto let out a yelp of pain as Kaiten tried to get up but found Tsunade glaring at the two of them ready to crush them flat with just her palm. "Uh, just kidding Obaa-chan."

Hitokaze just stood there in surprise as Tsunade took the door and broke it over Kaiten's head before she noticed Naruto and then slammed the rest over it over his head and she admired her punishment before walking back into the room. _I must be in the land of demons_, he thought to himself while Kaiten popped her neck and jumped up to her feet brushing off the word and rubbing her sore head. Naruto on the other hand, was busy trying to walk straight but ended up falling flat on his face mumbling about the stars flying around his head.

"Sorry about that, I believe I was about to ask you about some of the more interesting parts of the treaty, the main concern is having some of your shinobi enroll into here as shinobi of Konoha," _I thought she would, this might be a problem to try and figure out later on, and as it is we have some of our own problems to worry about…_ Reikaze stood up and walked over to the windows, looking out the buildings and trees.

"I understand Hokage, and I have been worried about it myself, we of Sensogakure are not rich, although we thrive it is because of our friendship with Kotetsugakure. We depend on their weapons, their armor, and their trade treaty with us, and they are dependent on our ports to trade their goods, import them food and send them half of the profits…" Unlike before, the mood had changed from joking and calm to serious and concern, Reikaze bit her lip as she sighed and looked out at the villagers walking around going from place to place. "As it is, we are not as strong as you are, we manage to survive thanks to our skills and warfare tactics, and the fact that we are independent is what has hindered our progress, every so often some Daimyo comes to our village hoping to take over our country and we have to prevent that at all costs.

_They are independent, a whole village and country that is independent from a daimyo, even the village…_Sakura shook her head, it wasn't possible. No one would want to contract shinobi from a land without a Daimyo, what was the point? Surprising everyone Kajina stepped forward, the entire time having spent in deep thought and she was aroused just by Reikaze's words.

"We have no Daimyo, we have a council made of shinobi and civilians, allowing both communities to coexist in peace. The civilians fish and help trade allowing us to gain funds we need for armor, equipment and food, and as shinobi, we protect them from attacks and armies, and most of all, we are the wind that protects the land, it is our duty to kill those who would invade on their peace." _Ne, what is up with this lady, she had her eye covered like Kakashi, but her voice, kuso, what is with that voice? _Naruto's own question was running through their minds. A ice age was paradise and a vacation rolled into one compared to the level of seriousness and chilling emotion that came out of this shinobi. "Sensei, I will go review the reports from the courier and I will come back if there is word of Kotetsukage's arrival, as you ordered, I already have the Southern Wind with his patrol at the border ready to escort them here."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the word Southern Wind but Reikaze smiled, _Best to save that for later, I cannot reveal all of Senogakure's secrets to them yet…_ she made a mental note to talk with Tsunade later. Before anyone could say a word, Naruto exploded with impatience almost waking the dead themselves.

"OBAA-CHAN, who are these people, what are they talking about…." Within a instant of the explosion Tsunade had lifted Naruto up with one finger and glared at him with a…unusual smile on her face. Shivers went down even Hitokaze's own spine as Naruto gulped, even he knew when Tsunade had a surprise planned for him.

"Naruto, you are to help Sakura show the son of our new allies, Hitokaze, around Konoha, I trust you won't go too crazy on the questions?"

"H-h-h-hai O-o-obaa-chan-n," Naruto was almost shivering in fear at Tsunade's eyes, **_Leave to my vessel to get himself in deep shit…_** Naruto glared at the fox demon inside of himself before returning to reality. Kajina watched Naruto as he walked outside with Hitokaze behind him and Kaiten grabbed Sakura by the arm before rushing outside being fed up with all the talking. Reikaze noticed Kajina's stare and she sighed before shaking her head and Kajina bit her lip but then sat down, _Kajina, your sense of duty hinders your judgment, you cannot expect to continue on with the Tadoragan acting up like this. _

"I'm sorry about that Sensokage, Naruto can be quite the handful at times,"

"Don't worry about, and please, we don't have to address each by titles Tsunade, I have three kids of my own, Hitokaze is the eldest of them, and even though he doesn't show it he never stops trying." Both of them understood the other, for Tsunade, Naruto was almost like a younger brother to her, and Reikaze had her son Hitokaze and her own children too. "I thank you for agreeing to help Kajina, the surgery to implant the Tadoragan wasn't under the best conditions and I was wondering when it was going to start affecting her health."

"Sensei, I'm fine…it's just harder than I thought to use the Tadoragan than before…" Her fake smile was cast aside when a sudden pain throbbed through her head and Reikaze helped Kajina lay down while Tsunade ripped the armor off over her eye and she looked at the chakra pathways. _Her body is rejecting the Tadoragan's chakra pathways, it's worse than she thought, the work was rushed and provided a temporary fix…We'll have to work fast to save the eye, _Tsunade looked at Reikaze who nodded before thrusting her thumb hard between Kajina's neck muscles and she slumped over unconscious as Reikaze closed her eyes returning them to normal. While Shizune and a few other medical ninja were busy in surgery Tsunade was in her office looking over all the paperwork as Reikaze returned carrying a small five year old child in her arms, almost pale grey hair color and lighter tone of skin than Reikaze.

"Thank you again Tsunade, Kajina is the daughter of my teammates, they both sacrificed their lives to protect the village and in return I promised to take care of her as my own, as my own daughter." _Even if she is a mother, her strength is more than just maternal instincts, if we had drawn that fight out…_Tsunade shivered with a odd sensation, it wasn't fear but it wasn't pride or confidence…_It would have still been a draw, and she must be at least thirty to still have so much power in her._ Reikaze put her youngest daughter onto the couch and brushed a few strands out of her face, she took off her vest and placed it over her bringing a smile to her face.

"Reikaze, I've been wondering, what is the reason for waiting for the Kotetsukage before you explain about the Missing-nin?" The smile that was across her face changed into a serious frown and her eyes grew cold as she pulled out a small scroll and then placed it on Tsunade's desk. _Regular missing-nin A Level, but according to this…impossible, how? _Tsunade looked up from the scroll to stare at Reikaze but she did nothing more than nod in confirmation. "Even if he is a genius there is no way that he could have…"

"There is a saying in Kotetsugakure, '…when the heart cries and bleeds, the body will release the restraints, and let the dragon howl in rage…"…….He witness the death of his uncles, aunts, his own father and mother…but what is worse is…he has killed at least twenty five of the killers, and that was as just five years ago…" _Twenty five shinobi, each one a renegade and most of them D-Level, but even so, to be able to kill a D-level at the age of… six, what is that boy like now?_

**_Konohagakure Forest, Outskirts_**

_"Go now, protect the other children!"_

_"But father, you can't take them all on, please don't!!!" Tears streamed down his eyes as the man bent down to his son, his left arm was just a bloody stump and no longer did his mother have her awe inspiring beauty, two busted lips and half her hand remaining but she smiled at him while lifting the pain throbbing limbs up to split a man in half. "I don't want you to die!"_

_"Swear this to me son, do not hunt these men out of anger, do not kill in anger, never take another person's life for nothing, never do it on a whim….remeber this son and repeat after me the creed of the Hotaru…"_

_"I…will never take the life of an innocent…nor a life in blind fury…I will only kill…to protect…my family…my love…and my village…I will father, don't die!"_

"FATHER!" The young man bolted up out of his makeshift bed, leaves scattered around him in a organized mess, a dying fire surrounded by rocks and lower than the ground level. Beside him on one side was a tachi style blade but only two in a half feet long, the handle was longer to compensate for the blade, and he sighed and got up while unsheathing the chiskatana. Unlike any normal katana, the chisakatana was an obvious shiho-zume-gitae due to the somewhat dull black core suggesting a soft inner core while the edges were sharp, the air cried whenever the blade was even nudged. _Light balance, sharp edge, perfect angle, father…._Tears threatened to dirty the boy's face as he closed his eyes and clutched the chisakatana tight, remembering the memories of practice with his father. "Tsumeshiroi, please, help me,"

"SCREECH" A small falcon landed on his shoulder before screeching in his ear again bringing a small smile to his face as he nodded and kicked the rocks around the fire in killing the small embers. Wasting no time in deep thought he picked up his mat and rolled it up while the falcon cleaned her feathers, even taking the time to do her own tail feathers as the boy pulled the worn and tattered vest over his arms, taking care not to cut himself on the armor over the shoulders. Picking up two shrukien holders he tied one to his left leg and the other to his back without interfering with his movements, a small case of strange red edged knives were then strapped beside the shrukien on his back as he picked lifted up a red headband and tied it around his forehead. Looking down at the blade and a strange chain tied around a leather arm cover he closed his eyes before saying a quick prayer and he picked both of the weapons up. The armor and chain went over his arm clean and snug, even the blade Tusmeshiroi strapped over his back matched him like a glove, almost as if made for him.

"Today's the day Mother, I have followed your words father, and soon, you can rest knowing I have obeyed your words, and after ten years……I will have protected the Hotaru clan at last." The falcon jumped up and landed on his shoulder as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his vest, _Today, I will be able to come back home….._


	4. Tonbo Of Kotetsugakure

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

"Ne? Why would I want to fight a girl, besides, you're no match for my skills!" Sakura grabbed Hitokaze out of the way before a blur of orange and black flew into the fence followed by Kaiten who slammed her knee hard into Naruto's chest. **_Come on kit, just use my chakra to rip her a new face!!! Kit, why did you stop…hell…_** _What is this feeling, why do I feel someone nearby? **Dumbass, you are sensing the presence of another demon, thanks to my generous nature, you are able to sense other demons, including those sealed, **How is that generous? _Naruto didn't have the time to hear the response as Kakashi followed by Kurenai with what appeared to be a small white blur following them too.

"Toriai, if you hear the name Tonbo, I want you to hide yourself with Genjutsu," The small white blur nodded as Kakashi disappeared with Kurenai turning, leaving the white blur to stop right in front of them, and both Sakura and Naruto blinked before staring at the shinobi for a minute. Standing up to Hitokaze's eye in height, she possessed a unusual grey blond hair color with a small part of it put into a small short ponytail, but what surprised them Naruto and Sakura was not the eye color, but the fact she had a mask pulled up over her own mouth.

"Um…Hi, I'm Toriai…are you Kakashi's students?"

"Yes we are, but how did you know?"

"Kakashi is also my sensei, he always talk about Naruto a lot," A smile spread across Naruto's face as Toriai turned to look at Sakura as Hitokaze disappeared, _Where did the other one go off to?_ Before Sakura could ask Toriai any questions, Hitokaze reappeared but no longer just wearing the tunic and clothes, his entire body was covered in grey armor from head to toe. Over his mouth was the same mask but now he wore a helm with armor over his chest with his clan symbol on his back, the front of his chest armor had four pockets built in with his arms covered in grey armor from the elbow down with white gloves on. His feet were covered in the same armor even over his toes, his legs were covered in light armor plates like his arms with his eyes in their Tadoragan form as he looked around as if sensing another presence. But as soon as he gazed upon Toriai his body froze as his eyes stopped on her, neither one made a single move or looked away, they didn't even blink. With all of his armor on over his body and his Tadoragan, Hitokaze was an impressive sight, almost like a soldier ready for war with the pair of collapsible large shrukien strapped to his back. Sakura noticed Toriai's gaze that went down from Hitokaze's face to his armor and then back up to his eyes, _Alright, I smell romance in the air! _"I….I'm Toriai….who….who are you?"

"Hitokaze Machero, I'm from Sensogakure, my mother is the Sensokage,"

"No kidding, you're from Sensogakure?" Almost at once everyone snapped their heads around to look at the newcomer, unlike anyone of them the headband on the shinobi's head was red in color, two straight lines beside a jagged x on the plate. On the shinobi's shoulder was a small falcon with bright red feathers, covering the rest of his body was a large yet torn and tattered cloak with cloaks at the bottom showing signs of old tears and even a few loose threads. _When the hell did he get here? _Naruto wasn't liking this newcomer one bit, he couldn't put his finger on the feeling but it was not a good feeling at all. _He knows about Senogakure which means he must be either a Kotetsu-nin, but Kajiina said that they should be coming in at least two days…_ Kaiten was on guard as soon as she heard the voice, all of her instincts warning her to get ready to fight as soon as she laid her eyes on the shinobi. _And those eyes…who has red eyes like those in any village? _Hitokaze was scanning this shinobi from head to toe, ignoring the piercing red eyes and the messy short black hair, almost like a butcher got a hold of the hair…Without a single sound, Hitokaze brought up both arms in front of him with his entire body tensed up and his eyes staying on the shinobi while shielding Toriai and Naruto raised both of his fists up as Kaiten moved into her stance while Sakura pulled out her gloves. "Hold on a second, what's with all the fighting stances, is this some kind of sparring match?"

"Don't play dumb with us, I should have seen the signs sooner, messy black hair cut by hand, tattered cloak, the old red headband of the Hotaru clan and the fact you know where I'm from, which means you are Tonbo of Kotetsugakure, and of the Hotaru clan," A healthy laugh answered everyone as the shinobi smiled and sighed, Kaiten was behind him in a flash arm around his neck and hand read to snap his neck at the sign of any movement. Naruto was already at his side ready to snap his arm off and Sakura held her fist at his heart ready to take him out with Hitokaze ready to fire off any number of Sensogakure techniques while Toriai began to perform a set of hand seals. "Any movement, and we will kill you without hesistation, Ryuen Hotaru."

"It doesn't matter, I will not die today until I have finished my mission,"

"Like hell you will, we can kill you without breaking a sweat!"

"Like hell I shall!" Ryuen dropped down while the falcon shot up as Sakura pulled her fist back just in time to have her feet kicked out from her and a hard blow underneath her diaphragm knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying into a fence. Without a moment to think Ryuen rolled away as Kaiten slammed her foot into the ground cracking the ground as she shoot forward and threw a swift barrage of kicks but Ryuen caught one while she used his arm as leverage to spin out of the grip and aim a kick to the face. As if he was shadow he dodged the kick while Naruto kicked him hard in the chest but he blocked both attacks with ease and Hitokaze's clasped his hands at an amazing speed while his eyes began to glow.

"East Wind of War jutsu, Nishi Kaze no Senso, Hiko no Kaze no Chikara!" Powerful blasts of wind took off Ryuen's hand but instead of blood, a log appeared with the top half gone as Ryuen through a punch at Kinoz but he was gone and behind him before he could even breathe. Sakura rose to her feet gasping for air as Kaiten shot forward but a large vortex of wind prevented her from getting near Ryuen who began to block and dodge as if he was fighting someone but there was no one around him, just the vortex of wind. _What is he doing, and where's Hitokaze, is he just crazy? _Naruto thought to himself when he heard the soft breathing, and he focused on the vortex of wind and his eyes widened as the vortex shifted and Ryuen ducked before responding with a simple low kick and Hitokaze appeared behind Naruto panting.

"I don't like talking a lot, but I feel compelled to say this much, get out of my way, you may be well skilled in the Flight of the Wind's Might style but you can't land a blow on me even if your faster than me." _**Come on kit, just let me out to shut this damn arrogant ass up! **I don't think even your damn kyuubi ass could even beat him…_Ryuen's eyes shifted to Naruto and he blinked. _He might not have done as much as the other two but, _his eyes shifted down to his arm and he ignored the bruise on it and smiled, _that guy is one of the few on my level…I might have trouble taking him out…uh-oh_. The air cried as Ryuen shifted his weight to roll to the left as Toriai turned into a spin kick touching the end of his cloak and he smiled before shifting his weight again while moving into a counter strike. Despite his speed, Toriai dodged while her hands became a blur and she smiled underneath her mask before clasping them together but she was stopped by a single gloved hand as Kakashi appeared before them while Ryuen's eyes seemed to soften upon seeing the similarities between Toriai and Kakashi. "Kakashi Hatake, the Mirror Ninja, I'm sorry but please don't interfere with my mission."

"If it involves attacking my students and targeting Toriai, I will not spare an ounce of mercy to kill you."

"Sensei, we can take him down just fine!" Despite Naruto's confidence, Kakashi silenced him with a single glare with his eye, no longer the usual calm joking emotion fueling those eyes. Replacing the usual emotion was a stronger and colder emotion, one that neither Sakura or Naruto had ever seen before in their training or on missions, total focus and a killer intent that was fed by this startling emotion, total and full controlled fury.

"Right now in my current condition Kakashi you could more than take me down, and I doubt even healed up I would still not be at your level, and I doubt right now Toriai is my target, so don't interfere in my mission." Ryuen took a single step forward and found Kakashi right in front of him arms folded across his chest with a single weapon strapped to his back. Ignoring Kakashi he took another step to walk around Kakashi but this time Sakura was waiting for him with both fists clenched ready to smash his chest in and he glared at both before moving his gaze onto them. "I will complete my mission, and I will not stain my blade with the blood of bystanders…"

* * *

Nishi Kaze no Senso, Hiko no Kaze no Chikara-West Wind of War, Flight of the Wind's Might, the most difficult of the four Winds of War to learn, combining wind techniques with advanced speed techniques, combining the power and unpredicatability of taijitsu with devestating ninjutsu moves, only two others have mastered this technique.


	5. Surprises A Plenty

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

No one even dared to move, on one side stood Kakashi with Sakura at his side both ready to kill Ryuen Hotaru, a shinobi that was from Kotetsugakure, and yet he was given a nickname by Kakashi and Hitokaze, Tonbo. _Why is he here though, Kotetsugakure is small that they wouldn't want to invade Konoha, and his posture isn't right, his body shouldn't be so tense….Wait a minute…_ The answer hit Kaiten harder than Konoha Mountain, he wasn't poised to restrain himself, nor was it a battle position, he was pushing himself too hard and his body had been forced to obey him and ignore the obvious fatigue in his body. Her eyes did a quick sweep over Ryuen's body and then back up to his eyes, the signs of fatigue were as clear as the small bags under his eyes, he was right; he was no match for Kakashi in his current **condition. **

"Ryuen Hotaru of Kotetsugakure, A-Level missing-nin under the name Tonbo, do not resist arrest, or I will not hesistate to kill you, you are no match for Kaiten or Sakura right now and I doubt you or even I am on Naruto's level."

"Like the hell I care, sorry to disappoint the great Kakashi but you are in my and I swore to finish my mission now move the **HELL OUT OF MY WAY!!!**

"I don't know who you are but I cannot let you harm my daughter," All eyes were on the new arrival, reaching Kakashi's own height plus a few inches with the same red hair as Kaiten but instead of the jade green eyes she had, the man had bright blue eyes instead. No sleeves or even armor over his arms, a single armor plate over each leg with pure white gloves and his hitai-ate was worn across one shoulder and he had two scars across his arm with one green and one brown stripe on each glove unlike Kaiten who had just one green stripe. _Wait, that crest…those weapons…even down to the vest…he's their son…_ Instead of moving forward to strike he unzipped his vest and pulled his shirt down to reveal his chest and held his arms behind him with his eyes closed surprising even Kakashi as he bit his lip underneath his mask. For five minutes no one moved a muscle, Ryuen did little else but stare at the man while Kaiten stared at her father, no thoughts going through their minds, just confusion. "Kahane had sent me a letter a week ago about a Hotaru child who had been killing those who took part in...in…that….hellfire…I'm ready for death…"

"NO!" Kaiten was in front of her father within a moment, Hitokaze had to blink before realizing how fast she had moved and even had pulled twin kodachi blades out of the sheathes strapped to her back holding them in front of her ready to defend her father. _I don't care what you did father, I won't let him kill you! _A gentle hand on her shoulder froze her in place as her father smiled down at her before hugging her one last time, tears rolling down his cheeks as Ryuen stared at the moment and his eyes softened. _This can't be the Tonbo of Kotetsu…unless…_Kakashi's eyes went from Ryuen to Morime who was hugging his daughter and that's when Kakashi heard the air cry with the sound of kunai and shuriken but it was too late for him to act. He didn't even notice Morime turning to him with tears in his eyes and his death wish leaving his lips.

"Kakashi…tell my wife that I'm sorry I lied to her…but I can't let my daughter go through the pain of my lie…"

"….Then die Morime, and take our secret with you…" Screams filled the air as time slowed own while Kakashi crouched down and Naruto brought his hands up as Hitokaze was already halfway to Morime and Kaiten with the kunai and shuriken beating him to reach Morime's back, _No not my daughter!_. But the sound of a child's tears and cries did not follow, there was the sound of blood dripping yet also a small line of unusual curses, including one about all hell breaking loose and Kaiten opened her eyes up. Although the weapons had found a target, it was not her father or herself and not even Hitokaze or Kakashi was standing in front of her tearing their sleeve off before wrapping up the wounds on their arm. Ryuen stood in front of her with a deep gash across his left arm and his cloak no longer in one pieces but instead had turned into thousands of brown tiny ribbons with kunai and all manner of weapons surrounding them in pieces. Her eyes shifted from the weapons to the new arrivals for a moment before to Ryuen who now had unsheathed a beautiful white chisakatana, the tsuba was a perfect black color and small white diamonds decorating the black handle while the habaki was white as well but with a black triangle touching the tsuba with a white kashira, and she realized that the blade was a little longer than two shaku but the tip was a perfect kokissaki tip, short and curved in a slight manner. Once again a wave of shuriken and kunai streaked towards them as Ryuen turned and three sharp whistles broke the silence as each of the shuriken was split in half while the kunai had been deflected into the ground. _Three whistles…his sword produced three whistles, but even my father had a time getting two whistles…_The sound of laughter brought her from her thoughts and calm to a boiling rage as she glared at the attackers, the ones who had tried to kill her father, the **real **ones. "I must say this much, we haven't been expecting this Hotaru brat to have come, he must be the eldest of the surviving children, too bad he had to interfere, so many children ready to be kidnapped, all those Hotaru prodigies…at least we can get rid of the brat first."

"Who you calling a brat ass-wipe, and don't tell me I'll be fighting real killers, I haven't spent my ten years of childhood just hunting you guys alone, I had to take down some minor gangs who were just as sick as you are," **_Were_, **_this explains a lot, so that's why the Hokage gave me two new bingo books, one is old, the other is new…_Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, there was more to Ryuen than just history. He wore the same vest that had once belonged to his uncle, the same two weapons his parents were famous for, and the headband, the headband of the Fifth Kotetsukage. _No wonder he was able to take the three of us on, he's had ten whole years of experience…but he said Naruto could take him on…why? _Sakura didn't have time to ask her question as Ryuen smiled and turned to Naruto. "Your Naruto, right?"

"And your Ryuen, what's it matter?"

"I say we just kill them now, enough of this talking!" The smaller shinobi growled, dark green hair with freakish yellow eyes, almost reminding Naruto of a certain Kazekage, except he was sane, _Damn freak, what's Ryuen want with me? **He's strong, quite strong in fact, I wonder….**, it's a miracle, you gave someone a compliment. _"Come on Kenaku, I'm hungry…"

"Patience Ogui, all of them will die soon enough," A familiar triple whistle silenced Kenaku as the pavement before them exploded sending gravel and dirt flying as Ryuen held the white blade above his head. Despite his cuts in his arms, the red eyes were still glowing as he smiled and his entire body tensed up, _He's going all out, he's no longer feeling the fatigue…why?_ Kaiten reminded herself who these men had aimed for and she stood up while sheathing her twin kodaichi as she bit her lip, it was too dangerous to leave her father's side but…she wanted to kill those men with all her might.

"I don't care about the short guy, he's not on my list but leave me the big guy, twenty five of my targets were innocent, and this guy will make the fourtieth one I need to take down, for my family and for those innocent ones too." Naruto stared at Ryuen before smiling, they had grown up in separate countries, separate lives yet both had lost a family or didn't have one any more and they knew how much the other longed to prove their worth.

"Hai, after this, do you want chicken or beef ramen?"

"Chicken…it would be nice to eat some real food, my treat," Both were blurs as Naruto shot forward followed by twelve doppelgangers as Kenaku clasped his hands together while the ground shook and a wicked grin came across his face.

"Doton, Kamu Kiba Iwa!" One large pair of jaws complete with fangs rose up out of the ground surrounding Ryuen as he sheathed his white chisakatana before the jaws swallowed him whole. Just as the smile turned into a grin, the pair of jaws made of earth exploded sending dirt and rubble everywhere as Ryuen appeared in the middle holding himself up with both hands while his legs were stretched out and he did a quick spin before jumping to his feet and popping his neck despite the cuts that he had on his body. With two simple gestures a single claw tried to slice through him but unlike whatever he had used to destroy the jaws with, Ryuen performed a simple spin kick but as soon as it connected with the claw his body blurred as he then landed two more blows causing the claw to explode as he ignored the pain shooting through his body, _I will not fail you mother, I swore to you and father that I would protect this clan and I shall! _

"Time for the Hotaru clan's power to wither away and die with your death"

"Come on little boy, I just want to kill you…" Ogui didn't even have the chance to scream when Naruto's clones kicked him hard into the air followed by the familiar U-Za-Maki shouts but instead of a final kick from the real Naruto, two clone kicked Ogui back down where the real Naruto was waiting and they both shouted Naruto out but then Naruto surprised even Sakura and Kakashi by dropping down but then shooting both legs up in an instant crushing Ogui's ribcage in by sheer force and power of the blows as he shouted out the word Owari and panted.

"I call that one Uzumaki Naruto Rendan Owari…"

"Too bad about Ogui, but he was weak anyway," Both Ryuen and Kenaku had unsheathed their katana but Kenaku wielded twin daito that seemed to make the chisakatana in Ryuen's hand look like a senbon needle. _How the hell does he expect to win against those giant swords? _Kaiten wondered but then she noticed that Kenaku had not moved from his spot when Ryuen had unsheathed the blade. "So, you now wield the Tsumeshiroi, impressive that a Hotaru your age can wield the white claw with enough skill to make it whistle, too bad you'll die in the end."

"Damn, you just don't shut up do you?" Ignoring the pain from the twin cuts across his chest Ryuen brought up Tsumeshiroi while his eyes glowed and Kenaku also brought up his daito as both of their blades began to glow with Tenaku's glowing in a black aura while Ryuen's was glowing in a unusual bright crimson red color and then they both attacked shouting out the same attack. "Ken no jutsu, Nami Kiru!"

"Ken no jutsu, Nami Kiru Nibai!" A distinct crimson wave of chakra flew off from Ryuen's slash while Tenaku fired off twin black chakra waves and they sliced through the single wave and Ryuen back flipped while Tsumeshiroi glowed. When his feet touched the ground he slammed Tsumeshiroi into the ground while clasping his hands around the handle as the twin waves were almost right on top of him.

"Ken no jitsu, Fuin Tate!" Chakra shot out from Tsumeshiroi and formed a circle while the two black chakra waves reached Ryuen but instead of slicing him into pieces, the blasts exploded on a glowing white shield of chakra eminating from Tsumeshiroi. Before Ryuen could go into an attack, Tenaku clasped his hands together while pulling both of his daito back and then the black chakra was once again surrounding the daito but this time they were creating one giant black chakra flame.

"Ken no jutsu, Nami Kuroi Shi!" Unlike the last attack, a larger and darker wave of chakra shot off of the daito as soon as Tenaku had slashed sending the wave off at Ryuen. Even with the white shield, part of the wave nicked Ryuen's cheeks and even knocked him back allowing Tenaku an opening he took by shooting forward and stabbing both daito clean through the shield to stab Ryuen right in the chest almost hitting his lungs. **_What is this that I feel, I wonder who it is though…could it be…_**, Kyuubi smiled while Ryuen closed his eyes for a moment and he appeared inside of his own mind but instead of a normal mind, there was a large gate with two seals placed on the front and he took a deep breath. **_Yes, I know young hatchling, I know, besides, pay attention fool. _**"Looks like the Hotaru threat will be no more, you cost us forty six comrades but now we don't have to worry anymore."

"I don't think so, I've been doing more than just hunting you down, I've taken out thirteen of your comrades' minions, not to mention twelve from a different gang altogether and some unaffiliated murderers, I will kill you Kenaku and end your damn talking since it seems to have spread to me now."

"Shut the hell up brat, I will silence you once and for all!" Ryuen didn't make a move as Kenaku jumped back while focusing all of his chakra into his blade as Ryuen pulled Tsumeshiroi up out of the ground. With incredible speed Ryuen formed the dragon seal followed by tiger, horse, ox, ram, and he didn't even waste a second as he formed dragon once again while lifting Tsumeshiroi up as his chakra appeared around his body in a strange crimson color. "Ken no jutsu, Nami Owari!"

"Hotaru Ken no jutsu, Isshun Owari Shinku!" As soon as the words left his lips the crimson chakra was channeled right into the blade manifesting into the shape of a large blaze with both hands on fire dancing in an uproar as Kenaku slashed sending a large spinning slash at him. _Incredible, to have that much chakra to cover the entire blade and to survive those wounds, _Kakashi cast his gaze on Naruto and smiled to himself underneath his mask, _those two are more alike than they think. _Without hesitation, Ryuen twisted back before slashing and blinding everyone with a large crimson flash and three whistles almost knocked everyone out as well. After the dust settled and they opened their eyes, Kenaku no longer stood with confidence and his two daito pointed at Ryuen ready to kill him. Instead, two Kenaku stood there, each half holding a sword and a mask of surprise burned onto his face with most of his body burnt to ash, below his former position and behind him was a large scar in the earth almost seven feet in length with an length to match. "Forty seven down mom, I…swore…that I'd make you and dad proud…and I'm tired…"

With that he fell down to his knees using Tsumeshiroi to hold himself up as he closed his yes and managed to look into his mind and a chuckle escaped the gate. Responding to the hint, Ryuen lifted up his left arm and lowered all but one finger while shouting the words _SCREW YOU DAMN HACHIBI, I'M TRYING TO CATCH MY BREATH!!! _Although no one else heard the demonic laughter in his mind, Naruto stared at Ryuen who returned the stare, both noticing their wounds healing at a fast rate and a smile crept across their faces.

* * *

Doton, Kamu Kiba Iwa- Earth Release, Rock Fang Bite, creates a large pair of jaws that rise up out of the ground full of rock hard spikes and clamp down on the opponent both crushing them as well as skewering them with the spikes 

Uzumaki Naruto Rendan Owari- Uzumaki Naruto End Combo, a advanced version of the normal Uzumaki Naruto Combo, adding three more clones, both he and the additional clone help kick the oppenent higher than normal and the two other clones jump up to dropkick the opponent back down as Naruto ends the combo with the word Owari and a strong double kick to the opponent, due to the speed and power used thanks to the additional clones the final blow is able to break the ribs.

Ken no jutsu, Nami Kiru- Sword Style, Slash Wave, one of the most basic and simple moves, during a slash or even before, chakra is gathered around the blade and then slashed off sending the chakra flying off in a simple wave form able to cut through steel.

Ken no jutsu, Nami Kiru Nibai- Sword Style, Double Slash Wave, a more advanced version of the Nami Kiru, unlike the basic form, the chakra is gathered around the entire sword and a pair of swords is used, a cross slash is used instead of a regular slash allowing the attack to connect easier and also can break through a regular chakra wave and is strongest at the junction point but difficult to master.

Ken no jitsu, Fuin Tate- Sword Style, Shield Seal, expert technique used by master shinobi, unlike the Nami Kiru, the blade is infused with chakra into the blade itself that is despersed into a circle create a seal that produces a powerful chakra barrier that is fueld by the infused chakra, can be used either by being stuck into the ground or during combat to create a temporary shield on the sword hand, if not infused with enough chakra, will fail.

Ken no jutsu, Nami Kuroi Shi- Sword Style, Death Black Wave, expert technique that is hard to employ, Kenaku infuses his blades with massive amounts of his black chakra while also slashing at the same time and sending a massive combined slash from both swords into a single powerful wave meant to destroy but can be blocked due to the slow speed of the wave.

Ken no jutsu, Nami Owari-Sword Style, End Wave, forbidden/expert technique used to finish a fight, infuses the blade with all available chakra and in a similar manner to Nami Kuroi Shi uses both blades but instead of a straight slash, the chakra is swirled creating a powerful spinning wave that is difficult to block.

Hotaru Ken no jutsu, Isshun Owari Shinku-Firefly(Hotaru) Sword Style, Crimson End Flash, one of the master techniques of the Hotaru clan's sword style, when learned, a Hotaru is no longer considered a child or an adept shinobi but a full fledged master swordsman as well as a clansmen, unlike normal sword techniques, utilizes the crimson chakra of the Hotarus, infuses the blade's entire form with chakra and creates flames from the hands as well as a minature inferno, the slash produces such a blinding flash as the chakra is released that it can also blind opponents for a moment as the chakra flies off at a higher speed and burns through steel like a hot knife through butter and incenerates the cut's area on contact in an instant if performed right, although it is an S-Level move, is also placed in the forbidden since too much chakra can burn both the blade and the user and even weaken the blade itself and burn the user's hands.


	6. Nanabi The Seventh Jinchuriki

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

"I don't care if he saved the Damiyo, he's an S-Level Renegade and I have a strong urge to put him into more than just handcuffs and maybe put a tracking seal on him!"

"Hold on a second, I thought he was a B/A Level Renegade?"

"After compiling the new list of Tonbo's record and his new kill, I have decided he be considered a S-Level, very much capable of taking on even a ANBU commander by the look of the level of his skills, but I agree with Kaiten, A/S level at the most maybe even A Special Level but S-Level." The loud cracking of Tsunade's knuckles silenced all of their complaints as Ryuen slept through the entire argument annoying Tsunade to no end. For a minute they all thought he might have died but a quick mumble involving a poor excuse for a fat lizard confirmed his breathing as his handcuffs clinked together and he rolled over on Tsunade's couch.

"The facts stand that he has taken out missing-nins and criminals ranging from E-level to S-level, the numbers stand against him, the sheer number of high level renegades he has hilled makes him an S-level threat, and is one of the youngest S-Levels in the history of the villages." As if Ryuen was listening to the entire conversation, he opened his eyes and yawned, rubbing the sleep from them and stretching out his body ignoring the presence of the cuffs and ANBU in the room with their eyes glued to his every move.

"Damn, I needed that nap more than I thought I did, should have plenty in my reserves but…what the hell, who's the pale big mouth?"

"That's Tsunade obaa-chan," Naruto rubbed his aching head while Ryuen rolled around on the floor clutching his poor sides as he avoided Tsunade's death glare and Kaiten snickered and found herself on the floor muttering about her own bruise. _Just perfect, I'm handcuffed and in the Kage's office with my own escort, this is going oh so well…**You could use my- **SHUT UP YOU FAT BAG OF SCALES! _Despite his sudden pause, Naruto was one of the few people who noticed the abrupt pause and blank stare and he frowned, _I wonder what's bothering him?_

"Even so, Ryuen has had the chance to take Morime out along with the others yet he has gone out of his way to protect them, I would say he's B-level at the most with obvious A-Level and S-level skills,"

"He's right," Everyone turned to see Kajina in a pale blue shirt under a simple jonin vest what was cut a little shorter underneath the scrolls, with a odd pale blue mask over her mouth in similar fashion to Reikaze but had dark green stripes on hers. Most of the armor she had worn before was no longer there but she still had the light armor over her legs and arms in a fashion akin to Hitokaze but on her hand was a tattoo of the word North along with her hitai-ate slanted across her right eye. But Ryuen wasn't paying attention to Kajina's arrival but in fact was looking over his own strange armor over his arm before he shot up to his feet with the handcuffs on the ground unlocked. "Trying to run away so soon Ryuen?"

"No, and allow me to say this, Taka, stand down, I know the seal is activated."

"Wait, you have backup?" A simple smack to the back of Naruto's head introduced him to the new floor as Ryuen nodded at the smirking Tsunade.

"Can't handle a Hokage by yourself?"

"What about you is supposed to scare me, the fact your breath smells like alcohol?"

"All the puns and jokes just delay your appointment with Ibiki, he's been waiting to meet you for a while now," In the same moment Kakashi finished his words, the windows exploded with glass blowing around them but not even hitting a single person as Ryuen swiped a kunai from one of his guards and found Kakashi's kunai at his own neck.

"Move and I will strike without hesitation," The voice came from a young child who stood at the edge of the windows former place, dressed in full forest green attire. Over the left part of the chest was armor fashioned akin to Ryuen's but underneath the forest green pullover sleeveless jacket was a dark blue shirt, kunai and shurikien hodlers strapped to the left upper thigh which was bare and cloth armor covering the kneecap down to the ankle with simple dark green sandals. Around the forehead was a simple green headband tied off but no black hair, instead there was short pale green hair that made the fierce yellow eyes stand out like a falcon's and the attire was finished up with simple fingerless gloves and no cloth over the arms and the same hawk from before was perched on the shoulder armor. "We do not wish to trouble you, if you let us go we will leave Konoha at once."

"I can't let you go, you stumbled upon this village by either accident or purpose, either way, the location of this village is kept secret from all who are not allied with us, and you two are both renegades which gives me a better reason not to let you walk out of here." Both guards managed to get up and start to advance on the arrival while Naruto kept staring at the new arrival until the gears clicked as the arrival did not respond. "And a S-level renegade makes my decision clear."

The arrival had begun to move but stopped as Ryuen kicked Kakashi's kunai away while he ran over to Tsunade and stood in front of her as the arrival froze in place with their arm raised up as if to strike Tsunade and everyone noticed the thin glow of chakra covering the arm.

"Stand down Taka."

"But oniiryu…"

"-No, that squad that had passed us a week ago was a Senso squad, and they would have notified Kotetsu of my movements within confirmation."

"Oniiryu-

-Please Taka, I can't keep your father's promise to keep his daughter safe if I am captured by a Kage."

"Did you say Taka, as in Tengu Taka?" Both Shizune and Tsunade stared at the arrival of Reikaze who was staring at Taka as well as Naruto who managed to notice the femininity of Taka and the fact she was wearing a skirt as well. And the fact she had broken into a Kage's office, most of all Tsunade's office which no one had dared to even try to wake her up or risk death.

"I don't get it, what's going on?"

"I have to agree with Naruto, Sensoukage, care to explain."

"Best if you all sit down, this is hard to tell when standing," Naruto kept his eyes on Taka as Sakura and Kaiten broke focus on the strange girl to prepare to listen. Feeling more than one set of eyes on her, taka shifted her gaze over to Naruto and on sight she jumped from her spot to be right at Ryuen's side, peeking out to see if Naruto was watching. "…This is quite a surprise…I had heard of Taka's disappearance, but to be traveling with you Tonbo?"

"Please Reikaze, the subject at hand…"

"Of course, we all know how great the last shinobi war was…and the great terrors unleashed…" Naruto avoided everyone's gaze and Kakashi was surprised at himself when he felt the urge to comfort Naruto but he couldn't with so many people around and not let it look suspicious. "While the majority was defeated by the five great shinobi lands, the lesser lands witnessed the defeat of two of the most powerful ones, one of which was the Nanabi. The Tengu, the main clan of Hidden in Mountains, fought the Nanabi and used himself as a sacrifice top seal it away into a prison, to ensure the beast would never be released, the Tengu clan gave their two strongest warriors the task of guarding the prison."

"So she is one of the clan…..but what does that have to do with her, and how would you know of the Nanabi's defeat plus her name?" A smirk spread on Kajina's face as she glanced at Reikaze who smirked herself. Kakashi had stated the same question that had been going through everyone else's mind, but Ryuen cleared his throat and replied.

"It is common knowledge, the Tengu leader did not kill the Nanabi, but he did achieve in the closest he could, he sealed it away into a dying prisoner of theirs, so that when the host died, so would the Nanabi even though the presence would heal the person a little, the death would have come in five years…" Through his reply, Nartuo had noticed Taka had come out of Ryuen's shadow and now was clutching onto his arm while biting her own lip to prevent herself from crying.

"Wait, you said would have come…what happened?"

"Twelve years ago, the Nanabi felt death creeping up and decided to fight…The seal had weakened with the prisoner's health and Nanabi managed to break free of the seal and wreaked havoc and destruction on the village until one of the guards managed to sacrifice their self to bind the Nanabi to their dying body…But the prisoner had died when Nanabi left, and Nanabi could not be held in forever as the guard was too weak to keep the binding forever…so instead…those damn bastards didn't think of doubling the binding seal…they had to think like a group of dumbasses and let Nanabi be put into a new body…the body of the guards' child, daughter of the guards, Tengu Taka…."

"Ryuen!!!"

"Go lecture shit to the those Tengu shitheads, instead of me Sensoukage…I saw the conditions she had to live in…her own family punished her and her father by banishing them from the compound…the entire village hated her just because they made one mistake just by letting Taka's okasan go and give birth to her daughter…and they expected the demon not to try and escape knowing death was about to come upon it?" A strange aura filled the air as Naruto struggled to control his anger, remembering the looks of the villagers every time he passed by them and hearing the whispers. Everyone snapped their heads up to stare at Ryuen who had just popped all of his knuckles in a single second as his own deep crimson colored chakra began to swirl within his eyes growing darker and darker with his anger rising higher and higher. "Putting the burden of her life to remain happy with father left to care for her as her mother died in tears at the cruel punishment?...She is not Nanabi and I will swear on the honor of my clan the Hotaru that she will never become the Nanabi either, so if you want to imprison her, interogaite her, then do it to me instead, make me the scapegoat instead of her. Taka has already been through enough hell already, just let me take her place…"

No one had even an inkling of what to respond with as Toriai shivered in fear as tears filled up in her eyes, how could anyone put a child through that kind of torture, is that what might have happened to otosan when otososan died? Hitokaze closed his own eyes as Kajina did the same, both knew the feeling of being ostracized, with Kajina having been a class clown for a while without parents and Hitokaze could still hear the faint jeerings of his classmates. Naruto watched Ryuen with interest, he was the single person in the room who could understand Taka's past the best, it was almost like his own except she had parents, but she had to lose both of them and didn't even know her own mother. Ignoring his anger in vain, he looked up to see Ryuen place his arm around Taka and she hid her face in his chest, blinking back the tears and pain as both Naruto and Ryuen locked eyes. Almost in a instant they understood each other, no complex conversation, no treaty or document, not even a word bond…they just understood the other without words, deeper than brothers even deeper than comrades, almost as if they were one part of a whole.

"Fine, than Taka-chan will stay with me."

"What the hell are you thinking Naruto!?!" What do you think he's doing, playing around? Kaiten thought as she noted the look in his eyes, too determined to be a joke and too serious to even be stopped as Taka jumped up in surprise.

"You mean…I can stay here?"

"I said you WILL stay with me, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, you're going to live with me." She could do nothing more than stand there while Ryuen cracked a smile before he closed his eyes as Taka knocked Naruto over in her mininature bear hug without even blinking as Naruto did his best to stand up. "Okay with you Ryuen?"

"Sure, Taka doesn't mind and I'm not in much of a position to offer any other options." Lifting up his handcuffs to make a point and all of them felt the killing intent radiating from a certain blond haired woman. Each knuckle was ready to burst out with all her veins pumping into them and yet her smile was worse than any genjutsu Naruto had ever been put in, even Itachi seemed like a kitten compared to Tsunade at the moment. "What, got a problem with it, obbbbbbaaaaaa-ssssaaaammmaaaa????"

Either all of jigoku had frozen over in a ice age, or the Kyuubi had just started acting nice as everyone including Hitokaze and Kajina stepped away from Ryuen who was yawning and scratching his head as Tsunade turned to him with both fists clenched and the smile was no longer on her face. No one had ever called Tsunade obaa-chan except Naruto who did it without care or worry and Kaiten had risked it without knowing the consequences but Ryuen…He had just broken one of the unspoken rules of life in Konoha, the first being a renegade, and the second involving Kyuubi, but the third was the one rule not even Naruto would want nor dare to break; never, in a thousand years, call Tsunade obaasama anytime, and worst case, even in front of her own shinobi and apprentices for all to hear with the draft from the windows.

"Besides, thanks to this…" Lifting up a necklace from around his neck he showed off a unique jade feather with a pair of symbols engraved into the middle of the medallion. "I'm her legal guardian with no loopholes or drawbacks, so no matter what obbbbaaaaa-ssssaaammmaaa, you can't do shit."

"Is that so, I bet Ibiki could get it out of you."

"Yep, so, why do they have oooobbbbaaaassssaaammmmaaa as a kage, and who's this Ibiki person, does he make ramen?"

Hiashi at the moment was about to finish the last stroke in his letter when a roll of thunder knocked him over as the paper flew up before falling back down as he let out a sigh of relief. He had great difficulty in choosing the right words but he knew that it would not fail, if it had not been for the tremor that knocked him face forward into the paper. Several smaller tremors followed as he pulled down the paper and a large vein appeared on his forehead as he stared at the destroyed manuscript as he decided to pay the Hokage a visit. But when he arrived he was dumbfounded at the sight of the Hokage's decimated office, and he followed everyone else's stares to the field outside where ten craters lay with Tsunade rising up from the eleventh one as Ryuen rolled over on the ground laughing as she turned to him and missed again to find him sticking out his tongue and pulling down one eyelid with the handcuffs now on her wrists instead of his.

* * *

Nanabi-seven tailed demon 


	7. Target: Deidara

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

"So let me get this straight," Naruto took a big slurp of his ramen as Ryuen did the same without his handcuffs on but instead had two shadows waiting for him outside. Even if he wasn't in any position to escape, Tsunade wasn't about to let him off the hook for the string of oba-sama related comments he had continued to make even after she had threatened to disable both arms. "You've spent ten years to be avenge your family, traveling all over the place?"

"No, more of put their spirits to rest, I made periodic trips back to Kotetsu every now and then to check up, the first one was just a couple of months after the incident," The once energetic blue eyes met with soft red ones that were full of painful memories as Ryuen let out a shaky sigh. "Three attacks had been made to capture some of my generation of the Hotaru clan. I vowed from that day forward to ensure my cousins' welfare and I started first with the attempted kidnappers."

"You killed them?" Ryuen almost snorted in his chopsticks and had to be slammed on the back hard by Kaiten to prevent him from choking. Ramen bits along with some chicken were wiped off with a napkin as Ryuen contained in his awkward snickering and shook his head. "Ne, but I thought you said you already took down forty seven?"

"Just because I said that doesn't mean I killed them all, and I'm not boasting about the twelve I've had to put to the grave." _He's not like any other shinobi I've met, he regrets killing…_Sakura noted to herself as Taka inhaled two more bowls of ramen as if they were air. "Kenaku left me with no choice, and there is just one I plan to kill."

"Who is it; I mean the fact that you aren't giving him a second chance is pretty harsh." All five of them had left Tsunade's office and right to Ichiraku at Naruto's pestering, along with the incentive of Ryuen paying for it without the slightest bit of care.

"Deidara of Iwagakure, he should still be smarting from that wound my oka-san gave him." Teuchi had just a moment's warning before ramen followed by spit rained upon counter as Ryuen and Taka blinked. Neither one had ever seen synchronized spitting before nor heard of it, and she grabbed three napkins and blew on them before holding them up to reveal a nine cut out by wind in the middle of each one.

"Are you crazy or just plain dumb, Deidara is an S-Rank and he's a whole lot stronger than we are."

"Your point?" Everyone's jaw hit the floor at Ryuen's lack of care, and with Taka humming away as she enjoyed her seafood ramen Sakura jumped Ryuen who opened one eye. Both Kaiten and Naruto watched the scene unfold as Sakura's fist was almost upon Ryuen when his arm snapped outward to hold her back with just two fingers in a manner Naruto had seen far too often. With a tiny flick Sakura had switched from the attack to rubbing her forehead as Ryuen smiled. "I've been training myself for the past ten years in between resting and tracking, besides, what makes you think all I have is sword skills?"

_He can't be serious about trying to take on Deidara; doesn't he know how dangerous that is? _Sakura's eyes softened as she thought of another dark haired boy who had been in a similar situation. Ryuen stood up with both chopsticks sticking out of the side of his mouth as if they were toothpicks, _well the least I can do is put them at ease._

"Aside from the fact that the five nations have decided to put a dossier out on you due to the combined targets you've taken down?" All heads turned to Kakashi who had Toriai in tow as Teuchi went into the kitchen to make some more ramen for his regulars. Kakashi pulled out a dark green book with a bookmark sticking out and he flicked it to Kaiten who flipped it open to the bookmarked page. "Go ahead and read it out loud."

"Nickname; Tonbo of Kotetsu, Origin; Kotetsugakure, Rank;…S…Jutsu; uses a balanced combination of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and specializes in Kenjutsu and Ningu, rumored to be skilled in more than two elements, Record; has killed six A-rank nukenin and five B-rank, has also turned in a total of forty nukenin and criminals, average of A to B rank…"

Even Teuchi's head popped out of the kitchen to stare at Ryuen, the one person who wasn't staring was Taka who now was creating a small orb of wind to play with, oblivious to the entire situation. Lowering his chopsticks, Naruto slurped up the last of his ramen as he reached for his fourteenth bowl while Ryuen sat back down and grabbed his thirteenth.

"I made an oath to my parents to ensure that their spirits could rest in peace, knowing that I would watch over the family as they had done." He reached into his wallet and pulled out a small wad of yen and placed down on the counter as he stopped a little ways outside of Ichiraku. "Don't worry about me, I've managed to survive so far and my luck hasn't run out yet."

"The Akatsuki aren't to be mistaken for any of the nukenin you've fought before, make a mistake, and your dead." Kakashi's words echoed in Ryuen's ears as he froze in place with his head lowered. _He's right though, Deidara won't be like any of the previous targets, and he'll be prepared for me with his own techniques…_

"All the more reason to perfect my techniques, and if I survive, " Lifting up his head revealed a broad toothy smile almost imitating Naruto's as the two ANBU appeared beside him ready to follow him around again. "You have to teach me a technique…"

With that being said, Ryuen ran off towards some of the training grounds with his watchers in tow as Kakashi smiled to himself. _This one will truly become a legend in his own time, along with a certain blond jinchuriki…_He though as the blond in question had just been smacked by Kaiten for commenting on Taka's odd child like behavior.

"Okay, ground rules, separate shower times and ask me before you go swiping any of my ramen." The words fell upon deaf ears as Taka marveled at the simplistic apartment Naruto lived in. Before they had arrived there, Sakura and Kaiten had dragged Naruto along with them to help Taka shop for some extra clothes other than her own green combat outfit she currently wore. So after ten stores later along with Naruto about to shell out money, Taka had whistled and called down Ryuen's own falcon which had a small pair of bags attached to the wrists carrying a small fortune inside each. Most of the money went to clothes but the rest was saved up for getting some new gear she was in need of even though Ryuen himself seemed to be better equipped than even Tenten. "And Nanabi won't try to get control?"

"Why should she, I've got a seal to keep her in, see?" Naruto stared at the same Shisho Fuin and Hakke no Fuin Shiki on Taka's stomach but instead of a spiral like his own, hers was in a reverse spiral with the lines being more jagged. _Wait a minute, Taka said she…_Within a minute later Naruto had jumped up onto the ceiling with his chakra sticking him right to it as his shout almost woke up the dead.

"NANABI'S A GIRL!?!" Taka blinked while snickering before she exploded into laughter while nodding as best she could despite holding together her poor aching sides. It took a couple of minutes for both of them to calm down along with Naruto to get down as Taka started to look up at Naruto and study him for a minute before looking away but then she looked back, starting the whole process all over again. Upon the sixth time, Naruto's patience died as he got right up in front of her face to stare her down. "Ne, why do you keep looking at me?"

"Gomen, but aren't you…like me too?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you…have Kyuubi in you?" Silence filled the room as Naruto's eyes widened in both horror and surprise. _How does she know about Kyuubi? _A loud shaky shriek caught Naruto's attention within his mind as a large outline appeared in the dim light. By squinting his eyes, Naruto was able to make out the form of a giant bird with an entire green body and seven long tail feathers with a pair of fierce amber eyes drilling into him.

_**Konnichi wa Kyuubi-sama!**_

_**Nanabi, what are you doing in this kit's mind?**_

_Get out of my mind! _Despite the volume of his thoughts, Nanabi let out a long shrill shriek while shaking all over almost as if she were to fall over dead. _Gomen Naruto-kun, she manages to escape every now and then…_Naruto spun around to see Taka in his mind too, wearing a more simple green kimino while taking in a deep breath of air. _NANABI-SAN, LEAVE NARUTO-KUN'S MIND NOW! _

_**Fine, bye Kyuubi-sama!**_The large bird disappeared while Naruto opened his own eyes to see Taka smiling at him despite having been in his mind.

"How did you get into my mind anyway?"

"Nanabi was a famous trickster who could enter into a person's mind and tell their most embarrassing secrets, and I can use her power too." **_And of course young kit, Nanabi is also able to cloud the mind as well, not that it would work on you…_**Ignoring Kyuubi's insult, Naruto felt relief that Taka didn't seem to care about Kyuubi being inside Naruto at all, she even felt happier that another Jinchuriki was around. Each question began to center around their own childhood, and when it came to Taka she went into a fountain of tears leaving Naruto to embraced the poor girl and comfort her, _Being ignored by all of your family is worse than not having one at all…_he thought. As she calmed down Naruto felt an attachment to the young child, both were Jinchuriki as well as despised for it, but now they had a friend in the same situation. Most of all for Taka, she now had a brother who could help her learn more about her Jinchuriki powers as Naruto had his own experience too. _Kyuubi-san's being quiet all of the sudden, why? _Kyuubi was sitting in his cell in a meditative position as his mind continued to race, _That boy, Ryuen…he knew of this girl's situation and yet he took her in…but how was he able to live so long with Nanabi around too?_ "Naruto-kun, can I ask you a question?"

"Hai."

"Can I call you onii-san?" He blinked for a moment in surprise before nodding, and he witnessed the first hand experience of the all powerful Taka-glomp, knocking him down hard to the floor. After getting Taka to release him, Naruto handed her one of the towels and one of the bags carrying her pajamas and pushed her towards the bathroom. _**Well, well, aren't we the good onii-san? **Kyuubi-chan, leave onii-san alone!_ Naruto was on in the floor in tears as Kyuubi went into a full blown rant on the respect that he as the most powerful kitsune bi should have. **_Gomen Kyuubi-san, but Taka can't be intimidated by us, trust me…_**

"The great Kyuubi and Nanabi, unable to even scare a little-

A massive explosion followed by a roll of thunder knocked Naruto flat onto his back as Taka shot out of the bathroom, half-dressed in her pajamas with fear in her eyes. _That came from the training grounds…Ryuen! _Both of them shot out of the apartment and in a straight path towards the origin of the explosion which somehow didn't wake anyone else up although Naruto noticed the familiar blur of Kakashi and Iruka-sensei as they all joined up.

"Impossible, not even the strongest spring storm could have done this…" On one side of the field all was peaceful, serene and calm while the other half was a giant crater that looked like a massive lightning bolt had ricocheted down and straight out for ten yards. Not even the stone remained on the field, and every minute a small crackle of electricity sparked from the crater as Naruto stared in awe at the field. _I'm the only one who could produce a crater even equal to this…_

"ONII-RYU!" All three ran over to Taka's scream as she looked down at the still form of Ryuen who didn't even move. His entire right arm was clean of any injuries but his chest and shoulder blade were darkened as if he used his arm for a lightning rod. Kakashi placed two fingers to his neck, and everyone waited with baited breath until Ryuen wheezed and his chest began to rise. "Arigatou Kami-sama…"

"Welcome to the land of the living Ryuen-no-baka…"

"…Sorry about that…Hageshii was a little stubborn but I managed…" His eyes managed to open up a little as he stared up at everyone and he smiled at Kakashi. "I'm still alive…and I perfected it too…"

"Iruka sensei, take Naruto and Taka home, I'll make sure Ryuen gets some rest." With a quick hug from Taka and a thank you from Naruto, the three left leaving Ryuen alone with Kakashi who lifted up his hita-ate while staring at Ryuen's eyes. _That explosion, only a S-level raiton technique could have made a crater that large or Naruto's new rasengan…_His eye flicked over to Ryuen who managed to sit up despite the current state of pain shooting up through his body. "Hageshii…you perfected your technique?"

"Yep…cost me a day of rest…but it was worth it to master Hageshii…and my own new move…" Kakashi picked up Ryuen who smiled before muttering about proving a lizard wrong causing a smile to appear under Kakashi's mask. _Incredible, a shinobi who is willing to risk his life to complete his mission…_He noted while running off, _He may be what Naruto needs the most right now…a brother._


	8. Allies Anew

_Disclaimer: The Land of War and the Land of Steel are my creation, please ask me if you want to use them or any aspect of my story please, thank you._

**_Hatchling, wake up…Wake up…I said, WAKE UP!_** Ryuen opened one eye to find a bright light, he blinked for a moment before realizing that he stared up at the single lamp glaring down at him and he groaned. _**About time, I wasn't sure if you would be able to handle it without my help**_ With a sigh Ryuen rose up to his feet and looked around his mind, _Great, using all my chakra up must've forced me to sleep to regain it back, so that's why I'm in here right?_ _**Correct**_. Instead of a corridor with a damp floor, his mind looked different; the room behind him had a simple mat with a door opened inside stamped with the title "Storage" and a desk at the back of the room. Across from the "Storage" door was another but stamped in different writing that held a strange double star symbol across the top and even the doorknob was just a simple and odd handle in the door itself. _So, why am I not awake or rather, in here?_ His words/thoughts went straight at a large fog of darkness bordered by a string of kanji lining the floor, walls, and even the ceiling although beyond the line not a single corner or end of the fog was visible. _**Your about to wake up soon enough hatchling, I would however like to give you a small token of my respect, a gift to you hatchling, of respect**_. One large tendril of grey chakra shot out of the fog and slammed into Ryuen while enveloping him despite his struggles to break out. _What in the name of hell, are you doing scaly breath? _**_Rewarding your efforts hatchling, be grateful I still am of heaven and next time, I may not be able to help you. _**Any further words were interrupted by Ryuen snapping his eyes open as he bolted up surprising Toriai who had been standing over him to fall flat down on her butt.

"I see your awake now, good." Kakashi's voice came from the doorway where he stood there leaning up against the frame with no green book in sight. _Ugh, I have a headache thanks to scaly butt and I'm in Kakashi's house, I think…_ His eyes swept around the room noticing a chair had been set beside the bed and with one glance; he guessed that Toriai had been curious about him so she stayed at the side of his bed. The room was plain with no decorations other than the Hatake clan symbol on the ceiling around the fan; a desk sat underneath the window that he now faced with a small bookcase on top. Other than the brown packages on the desk along with Tsumeshiroi, which rested in the ornate white sheathe, dragons dancing all over the blade of pure silver. _Why is he staring at my lap, oh I forgot!_ She ignored the blush on her cheeks long enough to hand Tsumeshiroi to Ryuen who smiled at her, it was then he felt his vision blur for a moment along with silence in his ears but then his eyes returned to normal along with his hearing. _I should wait a little while before I try to practice that move again_, _better get used to the new senses…_

"H-h-here Ryuen-kun, Sensei thought you could use some new clothes," _I should thank him for all this hospitality_, _I'm surprised he didn't try to kill me though._ As Ryuen took the sleeveless red shirt back he didn't notice the stare Toriai had been giving him while she scanned his body. Unlike even Lee who was a taijutsu specialist his build was skinny compared to Ryuen with his almost full compact body which displayed relaxed muscles that tightened as he stood up to stretch, revealing the definite steel form that his muscles took even though his weren't bulging out like other ninja. _A solid frame, compact muscle build supporting equal strength bones so this is what ten years of extreme drive could have given never mind_, Kakashi shook his memories out of his mind in time to notice that Toriai had fixed a stare on Ryuen's physique. Her blush went from miniscule to a full bright red until he pulled the shirt over his body. "A-a-nd I polished Tsumeshiroi for you, and I even-n-n fixed the sheath up!"

"Arigatou Toriai-chan!" He almost scared Toriai out of her wits when he flicked Tsumeshiroi out a bit right while his eyes glanced down at the pure white blade at his reflection. Some how his hair had gotten messier along with the two definite fang-like cuts that reached down from his temples to stop right above his cheekbone. The fierce red eyes seemed a shade paler yet it didn't seem that important compared to the fact he could smell the light scent of spring cherries coming from Toriai. _He wasn't joking around about the gift, I could smell a fart from a grasshopper from a kilometer away._ **_I will ignore that pathetic attempt of a compliment, hatchling_**.

"Toriai, could you check if Ichiraku is open now, double the usual order and Ryuen, what would you like?"

"Um, how about some breakfast chicken ramen?" Toriai turned to exit the room when she felt a presence right behind her and she looked back to find her eyes staring right at the red sleeveless top of Ryuen's shirt. _She looks different than before…wait a minute…_It took him a moment before he had noticed the lack of a mask and he stared at the two stripes on her cheeks made in a whisker style similar to Naruto s although it was just a single one and of a darker gold color. _She looks so, so, kawaii!!!_ All that stopped Ryuen from saying that out-loud was Kakashi's unhealthy stare at the back of his head as if looking for any excuse to kill him on the spot. Toriai was in a tougher position as she felt her conscience began to whisper to her. _He smells so good… but wait. Why I am thinking about that right now?_ She was not alone in her thoughts as Ryuen had took in more of the spring cherry scent, _I think she looks kinda cute even with her mask on, I almost forgot what I was about to tell her_. "Here, if you see a bakery on the way, could you see if they have some Kasutera and Anpan too?"

"I think they do, anything else?"

"Oh yeah, if you see Taka or Naruto, tell them I m okay."

"You d better get going Toriai, everyone in the village will be up soon."

"Hai Sensei, I'll be back in a moment Ryuen-kun." Toriai moved to exit yet she paused for a second before she turned back to Ryuen while blushing with a smile at him. Without a second thought, Ryuen smiled back sending the small red blush on her cheeks to travel over her entire face in a split second, which she took to shoot out of the doorway like a bolt of lightning surprising both of them to no end. _Toriai is fast for her age and she looks almost-almost, kawaii-kawaii._ **_I shall admit this much; she is pretty in a flesh bag mortal sort of way._** _It's a miracle, you can compliment someone…_ **_She's young too, I'd have to say she's just started her latter hatchling stages within the past week. In other words, preteen, she does have a build similar to Kakashi-san though hers is lighter and speed based _****True** In other words, preteen, she does have a build similar to Kakashi-san though hers is lighter and speed based …_Is that all you can say? **Claim and mark her in the next new moon, she appears naïve and just a hatchling, but she would bear fine strong hatchlings in the years to come , and at least make sure to name one after me **_Spit mixed with fresh water sprayed in the air as Kakashi watched Ryuen glare at thin air. _HENTAI BAKA-TEME!!!_ Ignoring Kakashi's stare he sat down in the chair beside his bed while Kakashi opened the drawer of the desk and tested the edge of the tanto with one of his own hairs, splitting it in two with ease. A smile spread across his face and he looked down at Ryuen s head before twirling the tanto around while whistling. _I think we should be careful around Toriai from now on,_ **_Agreed, the grey haired one is more than dangerous_**

"Arigatou Kaiten-chan."

"Arigatou Kaiten-chan." A smile spread across the older teenager's face as both Taka and Naruto proceeded to inhale their breakfast ramen as if it were air itself. Despite the rate at which they consuming the food, Kaiten showed no visible worry at all, _Wow, they can both eat more than Chouji-kun could, which reminds me, he wanted to talk to me sometime today about Ino, about time too_. Thoughts of Chouji and Ino dressed in traditional wedding garb sent the tomboy into freakish girl squeals of delight that frightened Naruto as he gulped. _This girl is crazy, Kyuubi, any way for us to run_? **_As much as I wish there were, she is faster than you and I doubt the girl can outrun an experienced shinobi for long_**. With a frown, Naruto returned to his ramen while Taka straightened up a moment before becoming a blur as the flaps lifted up. Shizune looked around Ichiraku a moment before her eyes rested on Naruto, _Iruka said that Naruto was there last night, better start with him._

"Naruto, have you seen where Ryu-

"Oniryu-chan is with that grey haired masked man, he went to sleep after his training from last night." _Kakashi-san was also there last night, but why would he take an interest in Ryuen so soon after he fought him just one day ago?_ Shizune thought and she turned to leave right as someone came in sending the smaller person crashing to the floor. _Toriai might know where Ryuen is since she is Kakashi's apprentice_, she thought as Taka's eyes narrowed for a moment and Naruto caught the unusual stare she was giving Toriai. **_I think we should follow the girl Kyuubi-chan, she might lead us to that Tonbo-shonen_** _She's right Naruto-chan, Kyuubi-chan, Toriai-chan might be hiding her mind from us with advanced mental blocks, way too much for me or Nanabi to break through_. **_Agreed, but call me Kyuubi-chan again kit and I will assure your death will be as excruciating as possible without lifting a finger!_**

"Four Hatake breakfast specials please, to go Teuchi-san."

"Coming right up Toriai, will that be all for today, you got an extra freebie coupon you still haven't used."

"Oh, and one breakfast chicken ramen special as well." The words chicken ramen caught everyone's attention although Naruto was more assured of his guess than anyone else in Ichiraku at the moment. _Yesterday Ryuen had ordered chicken ramen and he didn't even go for miso or pork_. _Hey Kyuubi_! **_I know brat, I'm surprised you can think at all_**. _Also, she didn't see us order either so that must mean she knows where Ryuen is! **It's a miracle, demons be cursed, the boy has a brain! Shut up you fuzzy bastard!** Taka-chan, are you positive that you can' t read her mind?_ A small spike of green chakra appeared in Taka's eyes changing her eyes to a deep amber color while her thoughts were already on going into Toriai's mind. _It is as I thought; we will not be able to read her mind at all without setting of her mental traps or tripping her mental blocks either_. Kaiten had noticed the sudden pause between Naruto and her eyes narrowed, _Why are those two just staring at each as if they could read each other's mind? Maybe it's some sort of oni-san/nee-chan,_ Toriai glanced around before noticing Shizune ordering some breakfast ramen as well.

"Oh, Konnichiwa Shizune-Sensei!"

"Konnichiwa Toriai-kun, is that breakfast chicken ramen special for a certain me-akai shonen now would it?" The entire Ichiraku bar glowed from Toriai's blushing face that even began to burn the flaps as Kaiten s eyes began to glow. _Uh-oh, we need to warn Toriai-kun quick or we will have Kakashi-san after our hides._ _Hai onii-chan, onii-ryu will not be hap-I think I see someone nearby!_

"H-h-h-ai, but h-h-e s a-t-t Sense-e-i s getting a haircut right now," Teuchi returned just in time as Toriai pulled out a small dog shaped purse and everyone was surprised to see it in the shape of Pakkun. "I hope he's alright."

"Of course I d be alright, I m not an 'S-Level' just for show." All eyes were on the new arrival, sporting a refurbished ANBU vest with Tsumeshiroi strapped to his lower back along with the Kotetsu hita-ate strapped around his forehead. On the back there was also a set of four scrolls strapped to his back with two on each side of Tsumeshiroi's sheathe. Both of his gloves now showed their original dark red color with a pair of black dragons roaring on them. Instead of the previous armored pants, he now wore the standard Jonin style pants with his right one rolled up to reveal leg armor plate with the left having a full pant leg with the bandages wrapped around it as well. The single change between his previous outfit and the current, aside from the new vest; was the presence of a brand new three-sectioned bracer present on his right arm and a repaired arm gauntlet covered his left arm. Even the once messy black hair that he self-cut for years, now stood spiked up in the front with the rest of it staying spiked up flat at an angle. "What, is it a little too much?"

"Not unless you plan to return to being a shinobi, wait, are you?"

"All I have left on my mission is Deidara, and I would prefer to honor my parents by killing him as an official shinobi."

"Is that possible, I mean, you are a S-Level Nukenin after all."

"True, butI did pass my Kotetsu genin exam before I went off on my…mission so I don't really know." The next person to respond was not Shizune or Taka but Naruto who shot up right into Ryuen's face, glaring him down without hesitation.

"Is this some kind of trick, or are you being serious?"

"I would not lie about honoring my parents' death wish

Both Sakura and Naruto stared at each other in silence while Shizune blinked in surprise. _I can't tell if he's serious or not…**Force him to fight you, if he goes for a kill against you, then you shall know if he is lying. **_Naruto nodded and did a quick sizing up of Ryuen before going through with Kyuubi's idea by first dragging Ryuen outside by force using his Kage Bunshins before going into another hand seal

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" _BAKA-TEME! _Inner Sakura yelled ready to rip Naruto limb from limb but she paused in mid punch to realize that Ryuen wasn't out cold from a nosebleed. In fact, he was just standing there with his arms folded along with one eyebrow raised at the transformed Naruto bunshin. _Ne, he's not affected by this at all, **I would say that it's because he's mature kit, but, he's looking at you and not the clone at all, not too hard to ignore with this kind of pathetic jutsu ... **Let's see which one it is then! _"Haremu no Jutsu!"

"This has got to be the worst excuse for a jutsu I have ever seen…"

"It is, but it works on almost any male shinobi without fail..." _Why the hell doesn't he faint from death by nosebleed already!?! _Even Naruto was wondering the same thing until he noticed Ryuen's eyes seemed different but it could not be… However, they did not have the chance to ask why when a small pulse of chakra went out from Ryuen's body and the kage bunshins along with the Henge disappeared leaving a surprised Naruto and audience. "Ryuen, didn't that affect you?...At all, not even in the slightest?"

"Nope, why? Did he use a Henge or something?" _Well, time for plan B then, _A deep coughing fit almost broke Naruto's concentration as Kyuubi managed to get up, **_I must be having a nightmare, my vessel has managed to use his brain! _**Out of the corner of Sakura's eye she noticed Toriai staring straight at Naruto with wide eyes and she turned to find Naruto already charging at Ryuen with a fresh Rasengan in hand. _What the hell are you doing??? _A second flash of chakra caught her attention as Ryuen spun around while holding his own glowing orb but of crimson chakra encased in a thick red shell, _Bring it on Naruto!_ "Hageshiishin!"

"Rasengan!" Time slowed down as the two glowing orbs almost crashed into each other but two arms shot out of nowhere sending Naruto's arm into the ground followed by Naruto. The other flipped Ryuen onto his back and the orbs faded away to leave both boys staring up at the annoyed single eyeball of one Hatake Kakashi.

"Naruto, as much I enjoy your desire to grow stronger, the Hokage wants to see us and Ryuen." Both boys glanced at each other despite being on the ground in pain and flashed a pair of toothy grins before feeling the rare and mysterious Kakashi sucker punch right on their heads. _Kuso, Kakashi-sensei must be serious about this if he hit me himself, **I agree with you this once kit, be ready for the worst. **_

"Well Naruto, want to finish this up later?" The blonde haired genin nodded and they both got up while Toriai handed Kakashi and Ryuen there ramens. _I suppose we could be late on purpose for the meeting…just this once, _Kakashi smiled at Toriai who returned the smile before they all set off to the Hokage tower.

* * *

Kasutera- sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs and starch syrup.

Anpan-sweet bun filled with red bean paste.

Hageshiishin means Fierce Core.


	9. NOTE

I am sorry to say this but I'm going to be scrapping this story, I thought I had it going in the right direction but I've already noticed a lot of mistakes on my part in the story. I was hoping for this story to be my first good one but I guess I just was trying too hard. The kinda upbeat news for those of you who liked the way this story started off, I'll be doing a revised version of this story, a few changes here and there, and I'll start it off from a earlier point, plus I think it would make more sense for some more background on Taka other than the long explanation. So I'll be redoing the entire story and posting it up soon. I apologize for screwing up the story so bad and making it seem blah, I hope that the new version will have a lot more success than this one did.

Thanks for putting up with my mistakes, hope you read the new ones.

Ja ne!


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